OSCAR COVERAGE: Art House

A day of high art kicked off Thursday with a lunch thrown by Oliver Peoples at the legendary Buster Keaton estate in Beverly Hills, now owned by cosmetics maven Victoria Jackson and her husband and home to their massive collection of paintings from Picasso to Warhol to Picabia to Magritte to Dali to Kahlo - and that's just the first floor. Fashion forward co-hosts Milla Jovovich, Carmen Hawk, Tracey Ross and Pilar Boxford of Richemont culled a crowd that ranged from Perry Farrell and Vincent Gallo to Reese Witherspoon and James Caan. "I mean, my head is just spinning right now," said Jovovich as she glided through the Spanish-style mansion and manicured grounds, which Jackson had given guests free reign of for the afternoon. "Sometimes as I'm walking by these paintings in my nightgown, I think, 'I'm not doing too bad.' It's nice to be able to share it," said Jackson. Her laidback attitude set the tone, as Farrell and friends sipped drinks at a maple bar and a couple of ex-Helmut Lang models shot pool in the game room.

And the art focus continued at the opening of "Damien Hirst: Superstition" at Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, which also was one of the reasons it was one of the night's most fun events: it wasn't about the stars. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Hockney, Courtney Love, couple Peter Morton and Linda Evangelista, Jean Pigozzi, Hedi Slimane, David Furnish, Tim Jeffries, Steve Martin, Nicky Haslam, Ed Ruscha, Bill Viola, Harvey Weinstein and Bob Shaye, Lauren Hutton and Eli Broad were just a few of the faces in the crowd. Flashbulbs inevitably popped when Tory Burch strolled in on Lance Armstrong's arm, but it was still a welcome break from the celeb hoopla for designers like Zac Posen, who sighed, "We've been working nonstop!" And the evening was, after all, about the art. Tara Subkoff raved about the butterfly paintings: "It"s breathtaking. I have chills!"Posen also gave the artwork a thumbs up, but lamented, "I can't afford it yet!" Love echoed that sentiment, saying several were "a little rich for my blood" before finally settling on a print. Several others were content just to browse, including a dressed-down Kirsten Dunst, Gina Gershon, James King and Jeanne Tripplehorn.

Of course, that's not to say star wattage was absent on Thursday. The Brits held court during a three-hour mingling session at the Sunset Tower Hotel, where Miramax Films and Jo Malone London said cheers to Oscar-nominated imports "The Queen" and "Venus. Peter O'Toole, with his family in tow, whispered into Ben Affleck's ear, while wife Jennifer Garner raved to Helen Mirren about the actress' star turn as Queen Elizabeth. Mirren cast aside dowdy royal fashions for the event, relying instead on Hollywood Boulevard for inspiration. She said she picked up her sky-high, plastic-soled heels "where strippers would get their shoes." Tony Blair, or rather his on-screen stand-in Michael Sheen, wasn't overly concerned about primping for the upcoming big Oscar day. "I will take about 10 minutes to put my tux on, put a bit of water in my hair and get in the limo," he said. As the evening drew to a close, Americans stuck to their own kind. Lauren Bush and David Lauren powwowed with Affleck and Garner. Bidding their adieus, Bush insisted the power couples see each other again. "I"d love to," gushed Garner.

And in keeping with the eclectic theme, where else but at Vanity Fair's Sixth Annual Amped Concert at night club Boulevard3 would one see Annie Leibovitz hanging with Bobby Brown?

Pals of featured performer Macy Gray--including will.i.am (cq) of The Black Eyed Peas, Natalie Cole, Djimon Hounsou, Lance Bass, Perry Farrell and his wife Ettie--came to support the singer"s charity, The M. Gray Music Academy. Gray, who recently nixed her signature bell bottoms and afro, glammed up for the weekend with a sleek "do, satin evening dress, long black gloves and bling. "I looked at my hair one day and was like, 'Alright already'," she said.

Rocker Farrell looked equally classy in a suit and ascot, revealing, "I was at the Coachella Festival, stopped at the designer outlets and scored this Yves Saint Laurent suit for a bargain."

The makeup, not the clothes, was the focal point at Dior Beauty's annual dinner under the colonnade at Chateau Marmont. Charlize Theron popped by to get her nose powdered before heading out to present an award elsewhere, while Sheryl Crow also paused to chat before heading to dinner at Meg Ryan's house with Gwyneth Paltrow. Gilles Mendel was on a high after meeting his idol Catherine Deneuve, at his own cocktail party a few hours before. "I was surprised she knew me," he said. "But she's a fan of furs." Those who stayed for the late supper included Shiva Rose McDermott, Emmy Rossum, Angie Harmon, Karolina Kurkova, Helena Christensen and Diane Kruger, who bid their adieus just as a new crowd. Aaron Eckhart, Elizabeth Banks and David Lauren and Lauren Bush -- was arriving in for their late-night post-Gagosian fete at Bar Marmont.

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For complete coverage see Monday's issue of WWD.